Possible IPO for GSK and Pfizer’s HIV company

The HIV company, ViiV, set up by GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer in 2009, might be spun off and floated in an initial public offering.

Speaking at the Reuters Health Summit on Tuesday, Glaxo Chief Strategy Officer David Redfern said: "If it becomes clear to GSK and Pfizer that giving the company even more independence and its own access to the capital markets makes sense, then we would be very open to doing that."

The possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) is said to be dependent on the maturation of the company’s drug pipeline which includes several promising new anti HIV drugs.

ViiV Healthcare is majority owned by GSK and signifies the collaboration of the two companies' HIV/AIDS operations into a new business.

"We are very open to more of those sorts of therapy combinations, in the right circumstances and if we can find the right partners," said Redfern.